A World so Wrong
by Kitsuneforlife
Summary: Yoko. Suichi. There is no longer an in between. Kurama does not exist. The Spirit Detectives are a group of three without memories of a fourth. This alteration of the past creates the paradox of the future.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho nor Inuyasha

The moon was almost full casting a silver tint over everything its radiant light touched. The gentle breeze of the wind was relaxing as it blew through the campsite of a group of travelers. It was quiet and peaceful if you ignored a certain impatient hanyou.

"Kagome, when is the food going to be ready?" asked the silver haired half demon. His question was directed to a teenage girl, wearing a high school uniform. The girl was from the future. Kagome glared at Inuyasha with her large brown eyes, causing him to flinch and grumble something non intelligent. A small orange haired fox demon jumped on Inuyasha's right shoulder.

"You know, you really shouldn't keep bugging her about the food. You've asked about ten times already," Shippo told Inuyasha, causing the half demon to glare at him.

"If you know what's good for you, runt, I would suggest you _shut up_," Inuyasha threatened with a growl. Shippo jumped off of Inuyasha's shoulder and ran over to a black haired monk with blues eyes, whom was wearing a purple robe. He went by the name of Miroku. The monk sat Indian style with his staff laid beside him on the ground. Shippo ran up onto his shoulder.

"Why argue on such a beautiful night?" Miroku asked, reaching out with his right hand to rub the butt of a brown haired girl. She was the demon slayer by the name of Sango. The brown-eyed girl stiffened at his touch. Shippo jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the punch that collided with the monk's face. The force behind her strike caused him to fall back.

"Miroku, when will you ever learn?" Shippo asked, walking over to Kirara. She was a small cat demon with red eyes and two tails. Her paws were black, and she had black strips on her tail with a black diamond on her forehead.

"Well, Shippo, you're just full of lessons today. I've got a lesson for you; it's called _shut the hell up_!" Inuyasha yelled out, annoyed. The kit merely rolled his eyes and began playing with Kirara. It was going to be a long night.

0-0

A silver fox crept through the large building that was located within the spirit world. There were ogres everywhere, running around with their hands full of paper. They were merely low class demons and were easily eluded by the undetected spirit fox. For the longest, he would creep down a hallway, hear the ogres scampering about, hide in the shadows, and then continue when they were gone. It was pitiful how weak spirit world defenses were.

After about an hour of sneaking through the building, the fox finally made it to the basement. According to his informant, the vault which contained the Forlorn Hope, a mirror that granted a wish, provided that it had a sacrifice, was located there. Halfway down the enormous hall, he finally spotted the vault. Could spirit world be any more clichéd with having a large double sliding door at the end of the hall with a padlock to the right of it?

Enhancing his senses, the fox stood still with his ears erect and tails twitching slightly. No one was around so now seemed like the perfect time to open the vault. Crouching low to the ground, he made his way silently to the vault. He stood on his hind paws and typed in the password that his informant so _generously_ gave. Looking at the wall on his left, he saw a poster with a picture of a green ogre that read missing. He could still remember the screams for mercy as he hacked the ogre, his informant, into pieces. With an air compressing sound the doors slid apart, revealing countless treasures stacked on shelves that littered the room.

The fox's eyes glinted with satisfaction. He hurried in his advancement as he skimmed over the labels under each object. Once again spirit world was clichéd because the items where in alphabetical order. After passing various assortments of swords, jewelry, boxes, books, and other shelved labeled items, the fox finally came upon the label Forlorn Hope and above it on the shelf a weird small mirror. After carefully getting the mirror within his mouth, the fox ran out of the room.

Carelessly, without checking his surroundings, the fox didn't think that some one would investigate the open vault. He spotted an ogre running to a large red button on the wall and upon him pressing it an alarm went off with red flashing lights. A masculine mechanical voice over an intercom system kept repeating 'code blue.' All doors locked and bars slid down, hoping to contain everything inside. The security lock down seemed tight enough to keep all humanoid and other medium sized creatures contained, but for a fox it was easy to slip through the spaces between the bars that covered all open passages. After everything was closed and locked, a siren sound started to play throughout the intercom.

_Attention the situation in the living world had reached code red. This is not a drill. Special Defense Force personnel please report for immediate deployment to living world by order of the royal majesty, King Yama. The King would like to thank you in advance for performing this civic duty to him and to all of Spirit World. _

During this time, nine specially trained troops jumped out of their respective beds and ran to four poles in the room. They slid down the poles, ran to their lockers, which were located in the locker room, and suited up in special gear in record time. They then ran to the elevator at the end of the hall and all piled in. One of the members pressed the button for the elevator to go to floor one hundred and fifty. They ran into King Yama's office and waited for his orders.

"Some one broke into the vault and stole the Forlorn Hope. Not all of you may be needed to go out on this mission. Bounty Hunter, Shunjun, I need you to pursue the bandit. As for the others, I need you to patrol the building, covering main exits and the main entrance. That is all." A large shadowed figured spoke from his throne with a deep sovereign voice. The group deployed according to plan. The blue haired male, with large silver hoop earrings, headed to the window and jump out of it to track the thief.

0-0

After successfully escaping, the building the fox heard a lot of commotion about the vault has been raided and the Forlorn Hope being missing. With a smug attitude, the fox pushed its speed to the limits to further distance himself from the crime scene. The hidden portal that connected the spirit world to the land of the living was no more than five miles away. How stupid was spirit world to actually have hidden portals that led to each world? Didn't they think that a high rank bandit such as himself would come across the information of there existence?

After covering about three miles of consistently running at the same speed, the fox felt an unexplainable energy coming towards him from the building he just robbed. With a growl the fox pushed himself to faster speeds that he's never accomplished before. He had to make it to the other world before the visitor caught up. He was on unsafe ground where a fight would result in him being outnumbered and overtaken. He worked too hard and plotted too strategically for him to go down while still in spirit world. Within a few long strides the hidden portal within the ground came in view in the form of a misplaced boulder. Now that his goal was in sight he would ensure that he would make it back to the other world. With another leap he dissipated into the boulder causing the time and space around him to alter. After taking a few seconds to recover from vertigo the fox was greeted by the forest of the living world.

The soothing cool wind of the living world played through his fur and ceased some of the adrenaline coursing through his veins. With the downgrade of the adrenaline level, the fox realized that he was somewhat tired. After all about twenty hours straight of high adrenaline levels coursing through your blood, there tend to be some negative effects. The mission had taken him nearly a full day to complete and the fatigue was catching up him. He wanted nothing more than to make it to his lair and rest for some time before using the Forlorn Hope, the mirror between his teeth, for his intended purpose.

After blurring through the forest for two miles, the silver fox sensed the same unknown energy that had followed him throughout spirit world. Whoever was following him was unfortunate, however, because anyone who was on his turf was going to get more than they bargained for. The fox then contemplated that if he morphed into his truest form, so that he can have enough power to face his pursuer, the spirit world would have his true identity which could lead to being put on the hit list. That was a potential problem that he didn't want to encounter. What could he do in a situation like this? He could keep running until he reached his lair. However, it would do no good. Spirit world was very persistent and thorough. He didn't have any nearby allies, so the plan of having them outnumbering and killing the stranger was discarded as well. Without many options, the fox kept running until he sensed two demons, a half demon, and three humans of which one was a miko and another a monk. Luck was on his side today, the fox immediately switched course and headed towards the six.

0-0

Inuyasha jumped to his feet, eyeing the surrounding forest warily. After looking toward the west he growled and put his hand on his Tetsaiga in preparation for the demon energy and another unknown energy coming towards the campsite. Kirara noticed the energy, too. She leapt to Inuyasha's side as flames engulfed her, a snarl ripping from her throat. When the fire died down there was a large cat in the place of the usually small demon.

"Kirara, what is it?" Sango asked, walking up to her feline companion and laying a reassuring hand on her back. The cat, however, did not settle down to her master's touch.

"There is a demon energy coming this was with an unknown energy in pursuit of it," Inuyasha answered for Kirara, causing the others to go on alert. Sango grabbed her oversized boomerang, the Hiraikotsu, and prepped it for attack. Miroku walked to Sango's side with his staff in hand. Kagome grabbed her quiver full of arrows and her bow. Shippo jumped on Kagome's right should ready to protect the girl if need be.

"Get ready!" Inuyasha said drawing the Tetsaiga. The small blade extended into a large fang. Everyone nodded in a silent agreement. A small silver fox with red eyes and five tails ran into the clearing and stopped nearly toppling over in the process causing the others to not attack. It wore a pitiful puppy dog look that was begging for mercy. If he wanted to live he had to trick these people into killing whatever was behind him.

"Please, help me. There is a guy following me, seeking to take my life. I cannot fight him, he is too strong," a voice emitted from the spirit fox.

"And why should we…?" Inuyasha asked. He pointed his sword at the demon. The fox looked behind it, whined, and ran off speeding past the group.

"Hey, I'm not through with you!" Inuyasha turned and yelled in the direction that the fox went. Shippo jumped to Inuyasha's shoulder and stared at the side of his face waiting for the dog demon to meet his gaze. When Inuyasha looked over to Shippo he saw that his eyes were watery.

"Please, Inuyasha, that was a silver fox! They are nearly extinct as it is, and he asked for our help. What if he has a family? His kids would become orphans just like me," the small fox pleaded with a shaky voice, tears threatening to spill over.

"Okay, fine, but _no crying_!" Inuyasha agreed unwillingly. Shippo nodded and returned to his original spot on Kagome's shoulder. The group waited several more moments until the foreign energy reached the clearing from the same direction that the fox came from. A guy with light blue hair and black eyes stopped ten feet away from the group stunned to see humans and demons alike side by side. If the stranger didn't know any better he would have said that the members of the group were all allies.

"I am here on official business from the spirit world—move aside," the stranger said plainly. Inuyasha, not liking to be told what to do, growled with defiance.

"Look, I don't care why you are here and I ain't gonna listen, ya got that!" yelled the clearly pissed of hanyou. Inuyasha always did have a problem with authority. He wouldn't take it from his brother Sesshomaru, and he would be damned if he took it from this random stranger.

"You will not stand in the way of my mission. I will give you two options: move voluntarily or involuntarily, either way, I don't care," the man said darkly, his impassive facial expression never wavering. Upon seeing the group refusing to move, the stranger crouched into a fighting stance.

"Have it your way," was the only warning the group received from the stranger before he moved in for the attack at an impressive speed.

0-0

After accomplishing the task of persuading the strangers to stop the spirit world hunter, the small demon continued through the dark forest towards his lair. If he continued to run at his current pace, he would make it to his hideout before sunrise. He had to make it there, rest a little bit, and use the mirror. There was no doubt, however, that King Yama would stop to retrieve his artifact so he would have to find a way to return it without getting caught. That was another problem for another day. He was certain that no one inside of spirit world had seen his identity, but just to be certain he would have to refrain from using his current form for a while.

A brief stop within the canopy of the trees allowed him to set the mirror down into the grass and transform into his purest form. A white light engulfed the fox as he morphed into a humanoid version of himself. Soon after he finished his transformation, he stood on two legs instead of four and looked human despite the large silver fox ears at the top of his head and the silver tail, which swayed behind him. His height went from three feet at shoulder height to seven feet. His red eyes were now a golden/hazel color. He had long, thick, flowing silver hair with bangs in the front and two thick locks on either side of his face that rested on his chest, the rest of his hair hanging down his back that stopped just above the waist and looked silky. He wore a white tunic with white pants and white shoes. His skin was pale and his stature was thin, yet he had defined muscles.

The fox demon grabbed the mirror with a clawed hand while wearing a smirk that revealed sharp fangs. He slipped the mirror into his tunic and resumed on his way to his lair. Small animals and lesser demons scurried out of his way. It isn't too often that the infamous bandit, Yoko Kurama, the boogeyman whom others whispered stories about to scare children, runs throughout a forest of lesser demons. In his current form, Yoko was faster. He had already estimated the trip of reaching his lair. The spirit world bounty hunter would not be catching up with him any time soon. He was certain of that.

0-0

The bounty hunter vanished from sight only to reappear with the half demon's neck in his grasp. He lifted him into the air effortlessly and threw him into a tree a few feet away. Kagome called out to Inuyasha before preparing an arrow and aiming it at the stranger. Upon releasing the arrow, the stranger recognized the energy and jumped out of the way. Unfortunately, his right arm was grazed in the process. He shot a blue energy orb from his left hand that went towards Kagome. Startled, the girl stood there frozen in place, watching the orb fly towards her. Neither her mind nor legs processed that she should move. Stupid Bitch… The schoolgirl stood frozen in fear. Shippo leaped towards the orb to shield Kagome and took blow of the energy blast, which sent him skidding into the ground past the girl on his back. Sango ran to his side as Kagome regained her self and prepared another arrow, clearly upset that Shippo got hurt. By this time Inuyasha was back on his feet and ready to unleash the Wind Scar.

Kirara observed what was going on and jumped to the man's left about ten feet away and roared to get his attention. Shunjun looked to the oversized cat, which distracted him long enough for Inuyasha to use the Wind Scar. Kagome shot a sacred arrow at the same time. Four large lines of yellow energy emitted from the sword and ran along the ground. The arrow, encased in white miko energy, flew towards him as well. Without any reaction time, Shunjun was hit with both attacks simultaneously. A loud masculine scream boomed throughout the night.

Instead of staying in a solid form and allowing himself to be obliterated, Shunjun turned into a white energy light and flew off into the night. He had failed his mission. The thief was long gone and he was way too injured to attempt to fight. Whether he wanted to or not, he had to report back to the spirit world and face an angry King Yama.

0-0

**Five Hundred Years Later…**

0-0

Seven long time friends sat around a bon fire on the beach. It was several hours past nightfall, but the seven didn't care. Yusuke, a teenage boy with dark gelled back hair and brown eyes, and Kurama, a teenage boy with long red hair and green eyes, were back from two years of being in demon world, and that was the cause of this particular celebration. Three pieces of driftwood surrounded the fire with Yusuke and Keiko, a teenage girl with long brown hair and brown eyes, on one piece together, Kuwabara, a teenage boy with orange hair and black eyes, and Yukina, a female demon with light green hair braided down her back and red eyes, on a piece together, Kurama, Botan, the human looking grim reaper with light blue hair and purple eyes, and Shizuru, a young woman with light auburn long hair and brown eyes, on the last piece together.

The group was laughing and talking amongst themselves with content that they all were together again and safe. No more hunting down dangerous demons. No more demon tournaments. No more humans trying to open the gate to the demon world. No more demon wars for dictatorship. Yusuke was finally home for Keiko and Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei would no longer get dragged along for anymore dangerous spirit world missions. It was the beginning of a new life and the end of constantly living on a dangerous edge. Nothing bad could possibly happen to spoil the tranquil mood that had drifted over them.

"So, Kurama, tell me, what do you plan on doing now that this whole demon world thingy is over with?" Kuwabara asked the red head while roasting a marshmallow on a stick with the bon fire. The whole group ceased talking also curious on what the red head's next move in life would be. Kurama was silent for a while, thinking on the matter. He never really thought about it. With the whole two years in demon world going back and fourth between human world and demon world, he was unable to devote his time to actually attending high school. Maybe he would go to high school.

"Hm, I was thinking. Since my life is back to as normal as it is going to get maybe I should continue my education." Kurama responded thoughtfully.

"Yes, I think that is a great idea Kurama," Keiko responded with a smile while the others nodded in agreement. Everything was silent for a while and Kurama seemed to go into a daze like state. His figure began to slowly fade until he became transparent. Nobody seemed to notice except Botan. Believing her eyes were playing tricks on her she reached out to touch his shoulder only to have her hand go straight through Kurama.

"Kurama?" Botan asked and when he didn't respond she screamed his name. Everyone looked at her confused and wide eyed like she just lost every ounce of sanity that she previously owned.

"Uh…are you feeling alright? Maybe you should go to bed," Shizuru said while putting her hand on Botan's forehead to check the temperature. Botan shook Shizuru's hand off with tears beginning to form in her eyes and cloud her vision.

"What do you mean am I alright? Kurama just disappeared! He was just sitting right here!" Botan yelled near hysterics while pointing to the empty spot between her and Shizuru. Everyone eyed Botan with suspicion. Who was this Kurama who was supposedly sitting at the bon fire with them?

"Who is Kurama? What are you talking about? Nobody was here besides us six. Don't tell me that you are going through an imaginary friend phase?" Yusuke responded looking at Botan like she just grew six heads. Botan sobbed with tears rolling down her cheeks confused at everything that just happened. She was not crazy, Kurama was just here. He dematerialized yes, but he was just sitting there in everyone's presence.

"Nobody remembers Kurama?" Botan asked between sobs. Everyone shook their head no, afraid to speak about her sudden change in demeanor. Why didn't anybody seem to remember him or notice his disappearance? _"I have to let Lord Koenma know about this!"_ she thought, wiping away tears. This was not a time for weeping.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please review and tell me how you like it so far.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho nor Inuyasha

The marble was cold. Shunjun kneeled on it with his forehead pressed to the ground before his livid ruler. Compared in size, Shunjun was merely a speck to the large god sitting in his chair with a large screen concealing his face. King Yama had yet to speak, causing uneasiness to build within the pit of the blue haired man's stomach. Sweat dripped down his brow. Never before had he failed his mission as a bounty hunter. He wondered if he would get demoted and dropped from being part of the Special Defense Force to being a messenger. He swallowed the lump in his throat and prepared for the worst when he heard his ruler clear his throat.

"You may rise," King Yama's voice boomed throughout the room. His displeasure was obvious. Shunjun slowly stood on shaky feet and wiped nonexistent dust from the front of his body, wincing because of the injuries on his arm and torso. He had forgotten about them in his worry. He looked at the blood stained shirt and was glad that he was a fast healer for the most part. His wounds were no longer bleeding, but that didn't mean that they weren't still tender. He looked up at King Yama and waited to be reprimanded.

"The thief got away," King Yama stated as he stood with fluid grace for such a large being. Intimidated by his size, Shunjun took a step back. King Yama sighed and walked over to a large balcony that was in the room to gaze out at the lands of the Spirit World. Shunjun bowed his head with respect and shame even though his lord couldn't see him before he spoke.

"He did escape my lord. The reason being was that I was attacked by a miko and a half demon along with four others," Shunjun admitted ashamed. When King Yama was silent for another long period of time he began to fidget. Just what was going through the large leader's head? He shuddered at the possibilities and paled at the thought of receiving physical punishment.

"Did you at least get the thief's identity? Or even your attackers who dare opposes my will?" King Yama questioned. He turned his cold gaze to glare at his subordinate. Shunjun swallowed again. Even though his ruler wore glasses, it didn't make him look less frightening. He shifted his weight to his other foot out of nervousness before he answered.

"My lord… I didn't get the thief's identity. I didn't get close enough to see him. As for the other six, I have their descriptions so that you may pull them up in your database," Shunjun spoke with confidence even though he was terrified at his lack of information. His ruler frowned, causing him to avert his eyes to the ground out of fear. This was never a good sign. He flinched when King Yama's voice boomed through his ears.

"How dare you call yourself a _bounty hunter_? You are pathetic! Get out of my sight. I cannot stand to look at you right now!" Shunjun immediately bowed at the waist with respect and submission and without a word left the room with haste, closing the door behind him.

After a few moments, King Yama began pacing his large room with his hands behind his back deep in thought. He had always considered dividing the living world into two different planes: the human world and the demon world. Due to demons and humans living in the same world, there had been a large decrease in the human race. Demons and humans were in a never ending war that almost always resulted in the demons coming out as the victor. He could not allow this to continue and still be considered a qualified ruler. His head throbbed with an oncoming headache.

In order to detach the worlds, he would need a barrier to keep them apart and protect the humans from the demons that terrorized them on a daily. The barrier itself would take years to construct as would the division process itself. He sighed, his job would never be easy and to top it off he needed to get the Forlorn Hope back and soon.

0-0

Yoko waited in his room, staring at the mirror. He tossed it into the air and caught it several times. He sighed out of boredom. He had returned to his hideout some time ago and was able to eat, bathe, and rest a full day. He was now lazily lounging on a fur with one arm behind his head as a pillow.

All he had to do was use the mirror, but he would not use it himself. He was no fool. The mirror required a life, only then will it grant one's deepest desire. It also had to be a night of the full moon before the mirror would work. He timed his theft accordingly so that the next night, which is tonight, would be a full moon.

He stopped tossing the mirror in the air and looked at it. Who would have thought that he was so great that he would successfully steal from the Spirit World? He smirked at his accomplishment.

A low knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. He sat up and put the mirror in his tunic. He eyed his door suspiciously as it slid open. A female demon stood in the doorway. She was about five feet and six inches, had short cut bluish-black hair that rested on her shoulders, indigo blue eyes, bat wings that protruded out of her back, and pale skin that rivaled the moon. Yoko smirked because his guest had finally arrived. What better way than to bring Kuronue back than to use one of his former lovers who missed him and would do anything to have him back?

"Surai, so good of you to join me," Yoko said with a smile and stood. The girl rushed over to him and threw her arms around him. Tears streamed down her face.

"Did you really mean it when you said that we could bring him back?" Surai's asked in a muffled voice. She had spoken into his tunic, after all. Yoko stroked her hair in a soothing manner.

"Yes, we can. I have the artifact that we need and this is the right time to do it," Yoko purred.

"Ok then, lets go," Surai exclaimed. Yoko's eye twitched. Just a second ago the girl was crying her eyes out; now she was overly excited. He would never understand this particular woman, nor would he care to try.

Yoko walked out of the room with the bubbly woman behind him and headed for the exit of his lair. When he made it outside, he was greeted by the cool air playing through his hair and the scent of a crisp clean night. The moon cast a silvery shadow on the ground and stars glistened in the sky. He reveled in the beauty of the night and took a few moments to bathe with the moonlight. The woman behind him stomped her foot with impatience and he sighed once again. She was right, however. They had come out here for a task. Even though he didn't show it, he was just as eager to get his second in command back. Yomi was useless and rash. He caused more casualties than he would care to count.

Yoko removed the mirror from his tunic and set it on the ground. It's mirror reflected the moon. Surai kneeled beside him and eyed the mirror warily. It looked ominous and she didn't really like the looks of it. Although she would never admit it aloud, she was afraid of the creepy looking thing. Yoko noticed this and smirked. _"Females,"_ he thought and shook his head. Surai hesitantly put her hand over the mirror.

"Forlorn Hope, I ask you to wake from your sleep and hear my plea. Reflect my greatest desire, so that you can make it true," Surai recited, causing the mirror to make a weird noise. A white light shot up from the mirror and black strands of energy danced around the two demons. The light and black strands faded and a picture of a man, wearing a black visor like hat, with his black hair pulled into a high ponytail, and indigo blue eyes became visible on the mirror's surface.

"You wish to have this demon's life? Is it truly what you desire?" the mirror asked in a deep male voice. A bead of sweat slid down the side of Surai's face; she was terrified.

"Yes," she murmured barely above a whisper.

"To grant this wish, you must give your life. Is that what you desire?" the mirror asked with the same impassive voice. Surai glared at the fox. He had known this all along and that's why he didn't do it himself. She missed Kuronue though. He was only meant to be a fling, but the time that they've spent together making love or what not was special to her. She had unintentionally fallen in love. A lone tear trickled down her cheek as she came to a resolve. If she had to give her life she would. She would do it for Kuronue.

"If it will bring Kuronue back to life, then…yes" Surai responded as another tear ran down her face.

"Then your desire shall be fulfilled," the mirror finished. The glass turned white and began to swirl. It then started flashing from white to black. What seemed like small electrical waves surrounded Surai and she closed her eyes. A white light emitted from the mirror and engulfed the demons, causing both Surai and Yoko to shield their eyes. The light then turned into a beam and shot up into the sky. The mirror went blank and Yoko and Surai was lying face down into the ground on either side of the mirror.

Yoko's hand twitched and a wave of vertigo hit him as he began to sit up while Surai remained motionless. He grabbed his hand and looked up. Standing next to him was a man who stood about six foot four. He had long black hair that was pulled into a ponytail that reached his waist and underneath a black visor like hat, indigo blue eyes, and bat wings protruding from his back. His eyes widened with disbelief and shock which mirrored the demon's expression beside him.

"Ku-Kuronue?"

0-0

**Five Hundred Years Later…**

0-0

The gang sat around Genkai in the large living room enjoying the night. Botan had been uneasy all day and the group had yet to get any explanations from her. No one had even been aware of Kurama's existence and had not brought up the subject of last night, pertaining to Botan's seemingly crazed ranting. Botan glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that it was after ten at night. She stood and headed for the door that led outside when Yusuke's voice interrupted her.

"Where are _you_ going?"

"I have to go and talk to Lord Koenma. I should return to him soon," Botan replied with a melancholy tone before proceeding out of the door.

"I'm really worried about her. She's been acting strange ever since last night. Do you think that she's going to be alright?" Keiko asked.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo," Shizuru assured, yet stared at the door that Botan had previously walked out of. She sensed that Botan had been off and although she wouldn't tell anyone, she knew that something wasn't right. When Botan came back, Shizuru would confront her about it.

0-0

The blue haired soul transporter paced Koenma's office, impatiently waiting for her leader to say something—anything to calm her nerves. He, though, was too busy stamping numerous papers. George, the blue ogre, stood off to the side some distance away from Koenma's desk and watched Botan with curious eyes. Botan, fed up with being ignored, nearly snarled. She walked up to Koenma and slammed her palms on the desk, causing numerous papers to fall to the floor. The young prince screamed wordlessly with anger at the grim reaper.

"Botan, what is your _problem_? Do you know how long it will take me to sort out all of these papers again?" Koenma yelled. Botan took a step back. Even though he looked like a baby, her boss could be scary at times.

"I know, but, sir, Kurama has _disappeared_," Botan responded with watery eyes. Tears threatened to roll at any given time.

"I know this and what do you expect me to do about it?" Koenma yelled, still upset about the papers. He had known the exact moment in which Kurama disappeared. However, he had more pressing matters to deal with. With all of his work, he was too stressed out to deal with another problem right now. After all, he had a lot of built up work due to his two year absence and dealing with the demon world unification war.

"Why Lord Koenma? Why did Kurama disappear? And why do the others not know about this except you and I?" Botan asked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Koenma jumped out of his chair and began gathering all of the mixed up scattered papers that littered his floor.

"Do you remember Kurama's story?" he asked in a less angered tone. Botan thought for a moment before speaking.

"Kurama's case had fallen into Yusuke's hands several years ago when he stole the Forlorn Hope from the Spirit World to save his mother. He had accomplished the task thanks to Hiei and Gouki. He was also the demon bandit, Yoko Kurama."

"That's just it. Thanks to Yoko Kurama, he became Yusuke's assistant," Koenma stated. Botan tilted her head to the side, clearly puzzled. She did not understand what he was getting at.

"I'm sorry, I don't follow," she admitted, causing Koenma to glare at her from the floor with cold brown eyes. Koenma dropped the glare and sighed. Why does his grim reaper have to be so clueless at times?

"Botan, five hundred years ago the infamous bandit, Yoko Kurama, died while attempting to steal the Forlorn Hope. With the deep desire to live, he went into spirit form and traveled through dimensions and time. He merged with a human baby: Suichi Minamino," Koenma explained, still picking up papers and placing them on his desk.

"How does that relate to Kurama's disappearance?" Botan asked. Koenma looked at her blankly for a moment. He had to refrain from acting out thoughts of pulling his hair. After visualizing himself choking the clueless woman, he continued.

"Yoko, being merged with Suichi, obtained a soft spot for humans, whom he originally thought inferior. He developed a love for his human mother after she risked her life and got injured on behalf of his safety. Then when he was fifteen, his mother fell ill and was hospitalized. Hiei had devised a plan to steal three artifacts from here, the Spirit World, and Kurama went along with it because the Forlorn Hope was one of the artifacts and he wanted to save his mother."

"Yes, yes, I know all that! I was there! But what does this have to do with Kurama disappearing?" Botan yelled.

"Now we sent Yusuke after these beasts to retrieve the artifacts. The night that Kurama was going to use the Forlorn Hope his mother went into a critical state and the doctors told Kurama that his mother was about to die."

"I know this!" Botan once again interrupted causing Koenma to go red.

"If you know then act like you know!" Koenma yelled, causing Botan to scowl. _He_ was the one who was acting weird today. She asked how Kurama disappeared, _not_ his life story.

"What does any of this have to do with Kurama's disappearance?" she yelled back.

"I said five hundred years ago Yoko Kurama died and merged with a human baby! That led Kurama to Yusuke and thus leaded him to the spirit detective assisting life!" Koenma yelled.

"I…get it," Botan said thoughtfully. Koenma noticed the confusion and deadpanned.

"No, you don't," Koenma pointed out dryly.

"I know, so why don't you explain it to me without all the unnecessary extras that don't tell me anyway to save my friend," Botan said. Koenma's eye twitched. How could she reprimand him with a smile on her face? She had gotten cheeky in recent years.

"Put the pieces together and use your head. Sometimes I believe that you are more hopeless than Yusuke."

"I'm trying, but nothing you're saying actually tells me anything new. Tell me something that I _don't_ know. If you know a way to get him back, then just say it," Botan grumbled, tired from hearing the same things that she already knew.

"Yoko Kurama didn't die five hundred years ago because of some sort of interference. He was supposed to have died the night he raided the vault because Shunjun, a member from the Special Defense Force, was sent to eliminate him. Without his death, he was never able to merge with Suichi. Without him merging with Suichi, Suichi lives a normal human life, without sharing his soul and body with a fox demon. With Suichi living a normal life, he never steals the Forlorn Hope with Hiei and Gouki. Him helping Yusuke took him through the all of the trials of the spirit detective and led him to be sitting on the beach with all of you last night when he disappeared," Koenma explained as realization sunk into Botan. She glared at him. He could have just said that in the beginning instead of giving her the run around.

"Oh, I see now," Botan said, causing Koenma to sigh with relief.

"You see, the past was altered and the result of Yoko surviving five hundred years ago altered the present time. The question is… Who altered the past? In order to do that you would need someone from a future time to actually go back in time and change things," Koenma questioned thoughtfully.

"I don't get it," Botan stated. Koenma continued picking up papers, impassive about his grim reaper's statement.

"If no one from the future time had gone back in time and altered the past, then the past would have played out the same way that it is destined to," Koenma explained. Botan tilted her head to the side and Koenma sighed at her.

"Never mind," Koenma said between gritted teeth. Why couldn't Botan figure it out and set up a plan to get Kurama back? It wasn't a difficult concept to understand. Why wasn't Botan using her head today? Botan shrugged it off.

"Okay so how are we going to fix this whole thing?" Botan asked as Koenma sat at his seat and began to sort papers out into their respective piles.

"Botan, you think of something. I have all of this work to catch up on and have not even scratched the surface," Koenma said dismissively. Botan was not having any of it. She slammed her hands on his desk again, scattering his papers for a second time. Tears rolled down Koenma's face as get got on the ground again overly annoyed with the girl.

"Koenma," Botan said sternly, causing the young prince to glower at her.

"GO FIVE HUNDRED YEARS INTO THE PAST AND KILL YOKO KURAMA!" Koenma yelled sarcastically. Botan flinched from the volume and turned the idea over in her head.

"But how do we do that? Yusuke has been released from the spirit detective position and we can't just time travel, can we?" Botan soberly asked.

"How about this…? You go talk to my dad and see if he will rehire Yusuke. If he says yes, you have Yusuke investigate this whole situation about who in this time has altered the past, and then you send Yusuke _into_ the past and have him prevent whoever from saving Yoko's life," Koenma said thoughtfully, causing Botan's demeanor brighten.

"You are brilliant, sir! That sounds like a plan!" Botan chirped, causing Koenma to sweat drop. With a bright smile, she walked out of the room, leaving Koenma to his papers.

Koenma paled at the thought of him being punished if Botan interrupted his father to ask him about the matter. His father would get annoyed and give Koenma one hundred spankings or _worse_ because _he_ had put Botan up to it. He began to sweat at the thought of it. His father was short tempered when it came to trivial matters.

"Wait! Don't do it! I was only kidding!" Koenma yelled after the woman who was long gone. He glared at George who backed away.

"This is your entire fault ogre!" Koenma yelled, and then stomped up to George.

"I didn't do anything!" George yelled, running out of the room in fear.

Koenma sighed and walked over to his desk in defeat. He opened one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a picture that was taken immediately after the dark tournament. It had Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Botan, and Keiko. They were standing in front of Hanging Neck Island. The spot where Kurama was supposed to have been standing was bare, as if he never existed. Koenma sighed. Although he would never tell anyone this, he really missed Kurama. Koenma put the picture back in his drawer and picked up the hit list binder that was full of criminals out of the drawer. It dated back to at least a thousand years. He opened it to about five hundred years ago and began to scan through the fugitives. A particular page stopped him when he noticed a modern looking girl in a school uniform on a page, along with five others. She had black hair and brown eyes and below her picture was that name Higurashi Kagome. He tossed the binder aside and opened slid out a keyboard that went to his screen and typed in her name. Her picture and information appeared on the screen. His eyes widened and his pacifier fell out of his mouth. She was the culprit…

A/N: Please review and tell me how it is so far!


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